The present invention relates to a new and improved headlight module for use in a lighting system for motor vehicles and more particularly, to a headlight module for use in a lighting system designed specifically to provided for improved aerodynamic performance of the motor vehicle as well as ease of replacement of the modules employed in the headlighting system.
The prior art discloses a plurality of arrangements of headlight modules for use in a lighting system to which the present invention generally relates, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,001 issued to G. J. English et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,002 issued to G. J. English et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,207 issued to R. E. Levin et al, U.S. Ser. No. 598,615 filed in the name of G. J. English et al and U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 285,351 issued to G. J. English et al, 284,112 issued to G. J. English et al and 283,362 issued to R. E. Levin et al., All of the above cited applications and patents having been filed Apr. 10, 1984 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Also, among the prior art patents referenced herein are U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,767 issued in the name of J. A. Bergin et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,128 issued to J. A. Bergin et al, both filed on Mar. 17, 1986 and assigned to the assignee of the present application.
A device which more particularly relates to the present invention, however, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,989 entitled "Motor Vehicle Headlight Module" issued Sept. 20, 1988 to Thomas Haraden and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
In that patent, which is herein incorporated by reference, there is shown a headlight module which is intended to alleviate the potential problem regarding close tolerance control between the lighting capsule and the reflecting portion of the reflector during assembly of the headlight module. Briefly, the patent discloses a connector molded integral with the reflector and a capsule which is separately welded to an assembly which included an electrically insulative body portion with an attached metal contact. The capsule assembly with the capsule attached is inserted into a cavity at the rear of the reflector, power is supplied, and the capsule is moved in a plane perpendicular to an imaginary line extending from the aperture toward the forward lens to obtain proper focus. With this accomplished, the metal contact attached to the capsule is welded to metal pieces in the reflector to fix the capsule position and the cavity is filled with epoxy for sealing.
While the above briefly described configuration has proved satisfactory in achieving the objectives of the improving a module of the type under consideration, it has been found that a headlight module of the type described is subject to improvement by minimizing the number of parts employed in the module construction, eliminating the welding inside the rear reflector cavity and the elimination of insert molding of metal pieces in the reflector, all of which are effective to reduce the cost of constructing the headlight module assembly.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved motor vehicle headlight module which obviates the disadvantages in the manufacturing and assembly of existing headlight module assemblies.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved motor vehicle headlight module which minimizes the number of parts employed in assembly of the module.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved motor vehicle headlight module wherein the need for insert molding metal pieces in the reflector, or the welding of components inside the rear reflector cavity are eliminated.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a headlight module of the type described which requires less time to manufacture and is therefore less costly than existing headlight modules of the type disclosed.